Bioceb

Bioceb Induction week August 26th - 30th 2024

2024-09-11T17:55:47Z

The fifth Bioceb Induction Week took place in Reims from August 26th to 30th 2024!

Bioceb welcomed its fifth intake in Reims, in the presence of staff from URCA and AgroParisTech. Aalto's, ULiège's and TalTech's representatives, as well as a few students who could not be present in-person, took part to the event online, so that the whole consortium and the 9 students could be brought together. This year is special because Cohort 5 is the first not to benefit from Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

The Induction Week kicked off with an introduction to the Bioceb programme and its partner universities. Following this, students and staff shared objects and pictures that represent them and their home countries. The students also discussed their academic backgrounds in fields such as chemical engineering, biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, soil science. The presence of students from 7 different nationalities highlighted the importance of a multidisciplinary and intercultural approach in this programme.

The week was also filled with activities designed to strengthen ties between students and provide an excellent way to get to know each other quickly. These activities included speed meetings, theatrical and intercultural workshops, outdoor lunches, and a student party. During the speed meetings, students participated in one-on-one round-table discussions where they had to find five common points within a given time. As the speed meetings progressed, the time allowed to find common points decreased, making it a fast-paced activity! The intercultural course was particularly interesting as it developed essential skills for navigating multicultural environments, both personally and professionally. It also encouraged reflection on students' own culture and its perception, while preparing them for their future international mobility within the Bioceb programme.

In addition to the cohesion activities, the students had the opportunity to go on sightseeing outings. They joined other international students from URCA to visit the Champagne vineyard in Mutigny and the Mercier cellar in Épernay, where they concluded with a wine and champagne tasting. During the visit to Mutigny, they took a short 2 km walk through the vineyards under a beautiful sun and learned a lot about wine production. In Épernay, they discovered the history of the Mercier house and visited the large cellars on an underground train.

Another important moment of the week was the session devoted to the Green Line Project (GLP), to explain the pedagogical objectives, organisation and proposal of this major module in the Bioceb curriculum.

During the week, the students had the opportunity to listen to Prof. Agnes Paller from URCA, who gave a conference on 'Open Science'.

Classes finally got underway on Thursday and Friday, with presentations of the semester, visits to URCA laboratories and the first chemistry courses.

A big thank you to the URCA team for hosting this welcoming and inspiring event, and a warm welcome to Bioceb's fifth cohort!

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Programme_Induction_Week_2024 3.7 MiB

Bioceb Induction week August 28th - September 2nd 2023

2023-09-06T11:08:23Z

The fourth Bioceb Induction Week took place in Reims from August 28th to September 2nd!

Bioceb welcomed its fourth cohort in Reims, in the presence of staff from URCA and AgroParisTech. Aalto's, ULiège's and TalTech's representatives, as well as a few students who could not be present in-person, took part to the event online, so that the whole consortium and the 20 students could be brought together.

The Induction week began with the presentation of the Bioceb programme and of the partner universities. Then the students introduced themselves by showing objects and pictures which define them and their country of origin. The backgrounds of the students (chemical engineering, biology/biotech/biochemistry, soil, environment, health) and the diversity of their geographical origin (18 nationalities) confirmed the relevancy of a multidisciplinary and intercultural programme in this field. To finish, Anusha Bhat from the second cohort and Bioceb representative at the Erasmus Mundus Association (EMA) presented the association.

In the afternoon, the session dedicated to the Green Line Project (GLP) took place, to explain the pedagogic objectives, organization and proposal of this major module in the Bioceb curriculum.
The students will be working on the following topics:
– Track 1 – Valorization of food-process wastes
– Track 2 – Lignin valorization in a circular economy framework: a SWOT analysis
– Track 3 – Novel dissolution and functionalization environments for synthesis of fatty acid esters of cellulose
– Track 4 – Production and purification processes of lipopeptides
– Track 5 – Pre-treatments of biodegradable polymers for fast degradation in biological waste treatment processes

During this week, the students had the opportunity to listen to Pr Thomas Lauvaux from GSMA laboratory, who gave a fascinating conference on "Atmospheric monitoring of greenhouse gases for climate mitigation policies".

The courses eventually started on Thursday and Friday, with the presentation of the semester, the visit of URCA's labs and the first disciplinary reinforcement courses.

The 2023 Induction week included time of exchange between students, for instance speed meetings, theatre and intercultural workshops, outdoor lunch, students' party etc.

Cultural activities were not lacking during the week, with the visit of the Champagne vineyards and cellars in Epernay and Mutigny. On Staurday, the students visited the G.H. Mumm cellars and the Boulingrin market in Reims.

Many thanks to the URCA team for organizing this warm and stimulating event and welcome to Bioceb's fourth cohort!

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Bioceb Induction week August 22nd – 26th 2022

2022-10-14T12:39:17Z

The third Bioceb Induction Week took place in Reims from August 22nd to August 26th!

Bioceb welcomed its third intake in Reims, in the presence of staff from URCA and AgroParisTech. Aalto's, ULiège's and TalTech's representatives, as well as a few students who could not be present in-person, took part to the event online, so that the whole consortium and the 24 students could be brought together.

The first day was dedicated to the presentation of the Bioceb programme and of the partner universities. Then the students introduced themselves by showing objects and pictures which define them and their country of origin. The backgrounds of the students (chemical engineering, biology and biotechnology, food, environmental and material sciences) and the diversity of their geographical origin (no less than 20 nationalities) confirmed the relevancy of a multidisciplinary and intercultural programme in this field.

The 2022 Induction week included time of exchange between students: speed meetings, buddy parties, theatre and intercultural workshops, outdoor lunch, etc.

The students also attended two lectures related to Bioeconomy: “The EU Bioeconomy Strategy: policy framework and practical implementation” by Linda Salamé, Policy Officer at the European Commission, and “Valorisation of a variety of biomass streams to high-value functional ingredients” by Sofie Lodens, Project acquisition coordinator at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (Ghent, Belgium).

In a session dedicated to the Green Line Project (GLP), the students discovered the six topics proposed this year to the cohort in relation with the different tracks:
– Lignin-first biorefinery: design of a flexible process (track 1)
– Biobased building blocks from microalgae (track 1)
– Starch 3D – printing new materials (track 2)
– Chemical and mechanochemical valorisation of cellulose in environment of ionic liquids (track 3)
– Biotechnological production of aroma compounds for food and cosmetics (track 4)
– Biobased polyesters: from synthesis to application (track 5)
They had the opportunity to exchange online with the 2nd cohort about the challenges raised by GLP.

On the last day, a trip to the Biorefinery site of Pomacle (15 km far from Reims) was on the agenda. All the participants could visit the European Center of Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (CEBB) and discovered the activities of the AgroParisTech Research and Development Unit “URD AgroBiotechnologies Industrielles”.

Cultural activities were not lacking during the week, with the famous online “Champagne quizz”, but also the discovery of Reims by night and the visit of the Champagne vineyards and cellars in Epernay and Mutigny.

Many thanks to the URCA team for organizing this warm and stimulating event and welcome to Bioceb's third intake!

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Induction Week Programme 2022 1 MiB

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Bioceb students intake 3 733.2 KiB

Bioceb Induction week August 23rd – 27th 2021

2022-10-14T12:33:39Z

One year after the online launching of the programme, Bioceb welcomed its second intake in Reims, in the presence of staffs from URCA, AgroParisTech, ULiège and TalTech. Aalto's representatives, as well as a few students who could not be present in-person, took part to the event online, so that the whole consortium and the 24 students could be brought together.

The key position of the Bioceb EMJMD in the context of Bioeconomy and in the scientific strategy of their respective Institutions was underlined by Prof. Gilles Trystram (AgroParisTech General Director) and Prof. Essaid Ait-Barka (Vice-President of International Affairs at URCA) during their opening talks. The backgrounds of the students (chemical engineering, biology and biotechnology, food, environmental and material sciences) and the diversity of their geographical origin (no less than 17 nationalities) confirmed the relevancy of a multidisciplinary and intercultural programme in this field.

Before leaving the floor for a presentation of each Institution, Prof. Stéphanie Baumberger (Bioceb coordinator) reminded the main lines of the Programme and emphasized the activities related to personal development (interculturality and language courses, theater workshops, visits of cultural sites and sports).

In a session dedicated to the Green Line Project (GLP), the students discovered the six topics proposed this year to the cohort in relation with the different tracks: Lignin engineering and Cell factory projects (Track 1); Biofuel production (Track 2); Valorisation of cellulose in ionic liquids (Track 3); Bioconversion of a cellulose-based intermediate (Track 4); Bio-based polyesters (Track 5). They had the opportunity to exchange online with the 1st cohort about the challenges raised by GLP.

As the first 2020 edition, the 2021 Induction week included time of exchange between students (speed meetings and buddy parties), theater workshops with AgroParisTech staff, as well as online Bioeconomy lectures given by associated partners (N. Béfort, Néoma Business school; M. Delcourt, Global Bioenergies). All the participants could visit the European Center of Biotechnology and Bioeconomy (CEBB) where Prof. Florent Allais presented the activity of the AgroParisTech URD AgroBiotechnologies Industrielles. One GLP was proposed by the URD this year.

Cultural activities were not lacking, with the famous online “Champagne quizz”, but also the discovery of Reims by night and the visit of the Champagne vineyards and cellars, implemented for the first time for Bioceb students!

Many thanks to the URCA team for organizing this warm and stimulating event and welcome to Bioceb's second intake!

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Induction Week Programme 2021 713.2 KiB

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Bioceb students intake 2 1.8 MiB

Student's testimonial on GO-DIJIP AMPLIFIER Platform

Launch of the Bioceb Programme through its 2020 Induction week

2022-10-14T12:32:10Z

The 2020 Induction week marked the kick off of the first Bioceb academic year. Opened by welcoming words from the AgroParisTech General Director, Prof. Gilles Trystram, and from the Vice-President of International Affairs at URCA, Prof. Essaid Ait-Barka, this joint event gathered teaching and administrative staff from the five partner universities, together with the 25 students of the first intake. Exceptionally held online due to sanitary reasons, it was an important step for the integration of these students of 15 different nationalities with backgrounds in chemical engineering, agronomy/biotechnology and food science. Through theatre and intercultural workshops, as well as speed meetings and buddy parties, they could get to know each other but also professors and local students. The ice is now broken and everybody look forwards to meeting physically in Reims in the weeks to come.

The Induction week was also an opportunity for the Bioceb teaching team to present in detail the academic offer and the pedagogical calendar for the next two years, especially the Green Line Project. In addition, immersion into the core topic of the Programme, Bioeconomy, was proposed through a conference on European Bio-based Industry by Dr. Dirk Carrez (Executive Director of Biobased Industries Consortium) and a joint presentation of the European Center of Biotechnology and Bioeconomy by Prof. Florent Allais (AgroParisTech URD of Industrial Agro-Biotechnologies), Prof. Stéphane Lhuillery and Dr. Nicolas Béfort (Neoma Business School Chair of Industrial Bioeconomy). The students discovered that more than a concept, Bioeconomy is a socio-economic reality anchored in the historical and geographical context of the region.

Outcome of four years of collective efforts to build-up the programme, prepare its launching and select the first cohort of students, this 2020 Induction week sounds like an achievement to all the members of the coordination team. A perfect time to welcome our newly recruited Bioceb project manager Adam Garnell !

Many thanks to the five Bioceb partners AgroParisTech, the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, the University of Liège, Aalto University and Tallin University of Technology, and to Neoma Business School who welcomed us during the first day of the Induction week !"

Contact : bioceb@agroparistech.fr